Happy New Year's Eve!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!! I can't believe another year has gone by already. Crazyness!

2015 has been pretty awesome but of course, with the ups there are downs. But that's life and it's up to you what to make of it. (So I say make it fucking awesome!) 

I'll keep this short because I'm sure everyone is out celebrating and chilling out. Thanks for all of your support this year! Without you guys this blog would just be an idea in my head. Thanks for continuously motivating and inspiring me. You guys are the best! Now get your ass offline and have toast to the New Year! #cheers

xoxo, Nathalie

WHAT I'M WEARING
THE KOOPLES, black leather moto jacket with buckles (similar here and here)
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, Anjalina 85mm black heels (exact)
ARMANI, sunglasses (similar)
LARSSON & JENNINGS, black & gold watch (exact)
KAT VON D, Liquid Lipstick in Double Dare

PHOTOGRAPHED BY: Melanie Rees

Tutorial: New Year's Eve Makeup

If you guys follow me on Instagram you'll know that I received some lusty worthy makeup for Xmas. I was most excited about getting the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette and Becca's x Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop highlighter (it's sold out online but my brother got it for me in store). They're both so good, as are all of the products here, which is why I've been playing around with them none stop. It's also how I landed on this look and realized, it might be a lot of makeup for everyday, but it's totally NYE appropriate!

1. PRIMER
To prime my face I used Nivea's Post Shave Balm for Men in sensitive skin. Nikkie Tutorials, Jaclyn Hill and Kathleen Lights have all rave about this product as a primer, so I had to try it. It's about $8 at the drugstore and hold up better than so many other primers I've tried. Love!

2. FOUNDATION, CONCEALER
Once primed, I use foundation (Urban Decay's Naked Skin foundation in 5.0, not pictured) and my first concealer, Kat Von D's Lock-It Concealer in 24. This shade is really close to my skin tone so what I do after I've buffed this with my Beauty Blender, is brighten it up a little with Sephora's Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer. (I use two concealers because I want my under eye to look natural while still being bright.) I love the coverage and price tag on the Sephora concealer so much that I'm willing to overlook the shitty wand.

3. EYE SHADOW
I leave the Sephora concealer on my under eyes unblended as I work on my eye makeup. That way it's easy to buff away any fallout from my eyeshadow. For this look I played around with Punk, the deep burgundy colour from the UB x GS palette, around the outer corners of my eyes, with NYX's Prismatic shadow in Fireball (rusty orange shimmer), and then topped off with 1987 (bright yellow gold shimmer from UB x GS).

With my shadow complete I take a damp Mini Beauty Blender and pat in my under eye concealer. You'll be happy you waited to do this because you'll be cleaning up that eyeshadow fallout I was talking about.  

4. EYE LINER, MASCARA
Using my L'oreal eyeliner pen in Black. I drew on a thick exaggerated line along the top of my lash line and extended it more than usual for drama. I lined my waterline with a black liner from NYX and set it with powder (for extra staying power), with the shade Blackout, from the UB x GS palette. My lower lashes are coated with Cover Girl's The Super Sizer Mascara and my top lashes are coated with L'Oreal's Voluminous Superstar Mascara. 

5. BROWS
Right now I'm loving L'Oreal's eyebrow powder. I use it as a base and then fill in the rest with NYX's Micro Brow Pencil in Chocolate (a good dupe for Anastasia's Brow Wiz).

6. CONTOUR, HIGHLIGHT
With my eye makeup complete, I use Kat Von D's Shade & Light Palette to contour & highlight my face. The yellow and peach shades are excellent for setting and brightening the under eye, and the lightest shade in the palette is perfect for setting around my forehead, middle of nose and sides of nose. For contouring I just play around with the contour shades of the palette on the hallows of my cheeks, around my forehead, nose and jawline. Then blend, blend, blend so there are no harsh lines. 

7. BLUSH & LIPS
I find using two colours of blush works. The first wash of colour is a subdued shade from NYX. I'm not sure they don't make anymore since I didn't find it on their site. The second wash of colour goes on the apples of the cheeks. I use a brighter corally-pink blush from NYX called Summer. Then with a clean brush, blend again. For the lips, I used Buxom's Au Naturel Lip Foundation. I find it is a bit drying so apply a lip balm before using this one. 

8. HIGHLIGHT & SET
Using a small fully brush (I LOVE Real Technique's setting brush), highlight your nose, cupid's bow, cheekbones, eyebrow bone and inner corner of your eyes with Becca's Champagne Pop. Now you're almost done! Set your makeup with MAC's Prep + Prime Fix + for extra staying power so that you'll still look flawless well after you ring in the New Year!!

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year's Eve!! 

xo, Nathalie

WHAT I'M WEARING
MACKAGE, leather jacket from years ago
CHASER, City Of Angels t-shirt (exact here)
JENNY BIRD, The Smith ring (exact here)
MARC JACOBS BEAUTY, Nail Polish in Sally

Disclaimer: Everything in this post was purchased by me (or my family), other than the L'Oreal products and Jenny Bird ring. All opinions are my own.

How To: Cool & Casual New Year's

With Christmas over and New Year's Eve just around the corner, I thought it would be a good idea to bring you guys a casual outfit that's as low key as it gets (without ringing in the new year in pj's). I get that not everyone wants to dress up and hey, I count myself as one of those people. Glitter boots for NYE is as fancy as I'll get because the truth is, I kinda hate new years. Anyone else with me on that?

xo, Nathalie

WHAT I'M WEARING
ARITIZIA, Wilfred Cocoon Coat
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN, Burnout Scarf (I gifted this to Geoff for Xmas this year and he suggested I wear it here. I have the best hubby!)
SAINT LAURENT PARIS, Pink Glitter Ankle Boots
VALENTINO, Burgundy Rockstud Clutch
JBRAND, Black T-shirt
ZARA, Distressed Jeans

FIDELITY JEANS IN THE CITY

I love jeans so much that it's unreal, so when I got an email from Canadian born, Fidelity Denim saying they wanted to send me a couple of pairs of the holidays, I was like "yes please!". 

If you guys watched my UCM video interview, talking about my denim obsession, you'll know that I have skinny legs. For that reason I chose the skinniest pair that I could find through the Fidelity lookbook and ended choosing the Belvedere (seen in this post) and the Mila. As for the colour, I'm wearing the Sleath Dark, a deep indigo wash that looks black at first glance but is actually a deep blue. 

Based on my past experience with Fidelity (here), I knew I had to size down from my usual Rag & Bone jeans. Once I did that, I found the denim hugged my hips and my legs better. The jeans are really comfortable and stretchy but I only wish the leg was cut slimmer, but again that's probably because I have skinny-minnie legs. Since I'm petite, I found the length of the jeans were a little long, but that doesn't bother me since I usually cuff my jeans anyway. I styled them bunched up in this post to stay true to the laid back, rock and roll vibes from my personal style.

Thank you Fidelity for rocking me out in your denim! #DevotedToDenim

xo, Nathalie

WHAT I'M WEARING
FIDELITY DENIM, Belvedere jeans in Slealth Dark
THE KOOPLES, leather moto jacket and leather gloves
FOREVER 21, white tank
SAKS, cashmere camel scarf
ALEXANDER WANG, ankle boots
GIVENCHY, small black Pandora with studs
ARMANI, sunglasses

The Philo Collection

I recently shot a styled post (here) featuring Philo handbags, a line from Montreal, also sold at Zane in Toronto. The collection features something for everyone, from convertible backpacks, to clutches, crossbody bags and totes. While the beauties that I snapped for this post aren't mine to keep, Philo will be sending me one of my very own to add to my personal collection. Can't wait!

xo, Nathalie

Happy Holidays

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. Thanking each and every one of you for all of your support this past year. I wouldn't be as much fun if it wasn't for you guys! Happy Holidays! 

xoxo, Nathalie

WHAT I'M WEARING
CONVEY at 754 Queen W Toronto, Striped blouse.
ARITZIA, Wilfred Cocoon coat (other colours here)
LISBETH JEWELRY, Layla necklace and beaded necklace (from past season)
MACKAGE, leather leggings
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, Anjalina 85mm black heels
THE KOOPLES,  leather gloves (similar here)

Last Minute Xmas Shopping w/ The Body Shop

I put together a one stop shop gift guide for those For those shopping at the last hour. The following collections are from The Body Shop and should cover everyone: your husband, brother, bff, co-worker, and niece, mum, aunt, as well as stocking stuffers. If you're shopping online like me and your gift doesn't arrive on time, just do what I do - write them a card and tell that what's coming in the mail. They'll appreciate the gesture and forgive you for being a late shopper.

Happy Christmas!
xo, Nathalie

1. OILS OF LIFE™ SKIN CARE COLLECTION GIFT SET: Full sized face oil and face cream, $65.
2. VITAMIN E SKIN CARE: Vitamin E cleanser, serum and cream, $40.
3. COCONUT PREMIUM SELECTION GIFT SET: includes shower cream, body butter, body scrub, body mist and hand cream, $45.
4. SATSUMA BEAUTY BAG GIFT SET, includes shower cream, body butter, hand cream, loofah, $15.
5. MODERN GENT'S RESCUE KIT: contains Maca Root eye serum and Face Protector moisturizer in a cute tin. (sold out online)
6. OILS OF LIFE™ INTENSELY REVITALISING CREAM, $34
7. OILS OF LIFE™ INTENSELY REVITALISING GEL CREAM, $34
8. SPA OF THE WORLD™ HIMALAYAN CHARCOAL BODY CLAY, $22
9. ITALIAN SUMMER TREATS GIFT SET: (sold out) Similar here, $11.
10. STRAWBERRY FESTIVE CRACKER, includes strawberry hand cream and soap, $5 (sale)
11. FROSTER PLUM SOAP: similar here, $5 (sale).
12. STRAWBERRY SHIMMER BODY MIST: Similar here, $6.50
13. GLAZED APPLE HOME FRAGRANCE OIL: $3

DOG SLEDDING ADVENTURES

Out of all of the activities we had lined up in Banff and Lake Louise, I was most looking forward to dog sledding. I was imagining gigantic, majestic huskies with piercing blue eyes and cuddly thick fur. Instead I was surprised to see small 40-50 pound doggies that wouldn't stop yapping from excitement of running in the snow. I have two cats at home so being around barking dogs was making me really nervous because I'm not used to it. I sucked it up, climbed into the sled and we took off with David, our sled driver (is that what they're called?). He told us stories about moving from northern Ontario to the Yukon where he was a professional dog sledder. Who would have thought that was even a thing? The cool thing about everyone we met on our Banff & Lake Louise excursion, are the people who come from all walks of life. They all have one thing in common - they love living in the mountains. It's cool hearing their stories and experiencing a part of what they do on their day to day, like dog sledding or snowshoeing or being a guide. (I realize I sound like a total nerd right now!)
Anyway, dog sledding was cool but cold as hell. Once more I found myself wishing I'd been wearing warmer gear. Next time!

xo, Nathalie

Geoff and I wrapped up as warm as possible meeting our sled dogs.

ON LOCATION at Banff, AB c/o Fairmont Banff Springs

Yummy Last Minute Gifts

We're just a few days away from Christmas and if you're like me this year, you're scrambling at the last hour trying to get it all done. This year I'm thinking about giving tasty gifts to some of my loved ones, macarons from Butter Avenue, a coffee subscription from Nomad Coffee Club and, some yummo chocolate bars from Mast Brothers as stocking stuffers. Think outside of the box this year and follow your tummy and give the gift of YUM!

xo, Nathalie

BUTTER AVENUE makes my favourite macarons in the city and their cakes are pretty damn good too! I usually end up getting some of their goodies for my bday as well because in my opinion, you can never have too much Butter Avenue. With two locations, one on Queen & Spadina and another uptown in Yonge & Lawrence, it's easy to stop by and grab some goodies for the loved ones on your Xmas list.  (Butter Avenue, I love you guys!!)

NOMAD COFFEE CLUB offers coffee subscriptions across Canada and the US. They're based out of Toronto and they make it so easy to pick up a last minute gift that makes an impression. I love the idea of this for my father, a man who has coffee with breakfast every morning and one after dinner each night. It's the gift that keeps giving. #cheers